NBA News: Rookie Survey Selects Milwaukee Bucks' Jabari Parker as ROY [VIDEO]
As if the pain of being constantly mentioned in Kevin Love trade rumours is not enough, the pain of being relegated again to second fiddle must come as an added insult to injury to 2014 NBA Draft first pick Andrew Wiggins.
Fansided.com reports that thirty-eight members of the 2014 rookie class were asked to participate in a survey about their co-players during the NBA's annual rookie photo shoot at the New York Knicks practice facility, Sunday. In the Rookie of the Year category, the rookies overwhelmingly selected Jabari Parker as the most likely recipient of the award by season's end.
The No. 2 overall pick of the rebuilding Milwaukee Bucks got 52.8 percent of the total votes while trailing behind were Doug McDermott of the Chicago Bulls and Andrew Wiggins who both tallied a faraway 8.3%.Other rookies who received around 5% or more of the tallies were Shabazz Napier of the Miami Heat, Nerlens Noel of the Philadelphia 76ers (who is still considered a rookie after missing all of last season), and Elfrid Payton of the Orlando Magic.
The rookie class also picked Parker, the projected starting small forward of the Bucks to have the best career amongst the batch. This early, Parker is already groomed to take the reins of the franchise based on his readiness to contribute at the NBA level. While the team has penciled in Khris Middleton as the starting small forward, pretty soon, the fans and Bucks' owners Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry would be craving to see their star rookie in a starting role.
This is in stark contrast to the fate of Andrew Wiggins, who is projected to be traded for superstar power forward Kevin Love to the Minnesota Timberwolves once he becomes eligible to be traded by August 23rd. Many will wonder if the trade talks and the seemingly low expectations of his fellow rooks will fuel the fire of the competitive and athletic Wiggins.
If there is any consolation, last year's class got it all wrong when they anointed in a similar survey C.J McCollum of the Portland Trail Blazers and Victor Oladipo of the Orlando Magic as the candidates most likely to take home the ROY honors. Eventually, Michael Carter-Williams, the all-around point guard of the Philadelphia 76ers took home the top rookie honors.
Other notable results of the survey are as follows:
1. Most Overlooked: Klye Anderson, San Antonio Spurs (11.1%)
2. Most Athletic: Zach LaVine, Minnesota Timberwolves (56.6%)
3. Best Shooter: Doug McDermott, Chicago Bulls (39.5%)
4. Best Defender: K.J. McDaniels, Philadelphia 76ers (13.5%)
5. Funniest Rookie: Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers (20%)
If only, there was an award for Best Singer, well, the video below will clearly show the results:
(Video Courtesy of: YouTube/theSTASHED)